When I visited the beautiful medieval city of Bruges, I joined a tour that included a visit to the Choco-Story Museum. We were taken to the chocolate classroom, where the chocolatier explained the chocolate-making process, the history of cacao, and demonstrated the actual process of making chocolate. We actually tried the chocolate right after the chocolatier made it, and it was incredibly delicious. After the class, we walked through the entire museum, which featured many chocolate artworks, free chocolate tastings, and a gift shop. I purchased a chocolate box as a gift and discovered many interesting chocolate products in the gift shop. I really enjoyed the museum experience, especially seeing the various chocolate artworks. read more

See all

I cannot believe more people do not give more stars to this place. Whoever made this museum ... no detail in the story of the history of chocolate is left unexplored. There are three or four floors chock full of exhibits on every possible aspect of the history of chocolate from the ancient Maya to ads to the Spanish conquistadors to the French royal family ... ancient artifacts and all the tools each successive era used to produce and consume chocolate ... honestly it's a great way to get some global history learning in on vacation. And, unlimited chocolate samples at the end plus an interesting free demonstration. Many disappointed tourists showed up and were turned away so be sure to get your tickets online the day before. €14 per adult. read more

Tourist trap? Heck yes. I love chocolate though, so I have a bit of wiggle room to like this little museum. They have a location in Brussels as well, but I didn't go, so I don't know how they compare. They do have the same admissions fees though. Adults are 11 euros. I would have liked to try the workshops to make my own chocolate, but they were sold out on the day of. I definitely recommend booking that ahead of time! Admission comes with an audio guide that you scan on the numbers next to the exhibit and put next to your ear to hear. They have a ton of languages available. You also get a free piece of chocolate to enjoy. I thought they should have had rubbish bins so people can toss their plastic trash. There's about 3-4 stories of exhibits that teach you all about chocolate and how to make them. At the end, you get to try as much as you want of 4 different types of chocolate and watch the current chocolate-making class do their thing. You can watch a guy do a demonstration (timed) and get more free star-shaped pralines. (He made sure that everyone was ok with English first.) We even took a quiz at the end and scored 100%. HA! The museum ends at the gift shop of course. Worth a visit? I think so! read more

See all

My family is the kind that actually reads most all the text besides the exhibits in museums (unless it's a fine art museum and the curators start to go all woo-woo with their comments...) so having the audio guide was a real bonus. We definitely added to our knowledge of chocolate and seeing some of the artifacts (the mustache cups and the historical footage of a chocolatier and his assistants pour and make hollow-molded pieces) was cool. There were some issues with the audio. There were some delays so you thought you were done with that exhibit when in actuality there was more to be said. About 3/4 of the way through, an exhibit tells you about the Belcolade company and then it fells like propaganda. I started to skip some audio stops. I also think that this museum has expanded over the years and instead of tossing out old displays, they've reused them--lots of information is duplicated. Luckily, it ends at a room that has four different kinds of chocolate to sample (all you can eat!) and a demonstration of pralines-making and more samples. read more

Choco-Story - Museums Near Me - Bruges, VWV

If you really want to learn the history of chocolate, including how it's made and where it comes from, from the Aztecs to today, you'll enjoy it. It has decent English signage throughout in multiple languages and an array of objects. I personally wasn't too interested, and the enticement of a free chocolate bar was turned into disappointment when realized it had a bit of a cheap feel to it (especially since plastic wrapped, stamped with the museum's name, and in ceremonially provided at the register). read more

See all

A visit to the Chocolate Museum is worth it. Well you are in Belgium, best chocolate manufacturers. History of chocolate from the Aztecs, who used it as currency, up to todays wares. I learned a lot about chocolate. Up to this visit I only enjoyed eating it. Lovely building and well planned, unsupervised, tour. read more

Chocolate museum in Bruges. 8€ each which I think for the museum is a bit steep but then again it is tourist prices. There are option for combined tours of other museums for an added extra cost & a discount for students, children & OAP's. You get a free chocolate bar & guide on entry (plus you can take a little sample piece off the plate at the counter too!) The tour is split into 3 floors & takes you on the chocolate tour from its origins in the Mayan & Aztec countries/culture, across to Spain & it's journey through Europe to modern day Belgium chocolate. There is a demonstration at the end which we only stayed for for a short period of time as he was speaking Flemish/French I think so couldn't understand him anyway. He may have said it in English but we didn't wait around to see. Most impressive is the life size people made out of chocolate & the detail which goes into some of the pieces in that section of the tour. There is the obligatory gift shop of chocolate before the exit. read more

See all

A sweetly, cheesy touristy afternoon. Choco-story is a multistory museum to chocolate. The museum was better than I thought it would be, with lots of history about chocolate its beginnings in South America, its elitist phase in Europe, and the development of solid chocolates (in Belgium). The displays were in French and English, full of artifacts. There was a space with a replica of the plant, and a video about how the beans are roasted. There was a entertaining display about all the health benefits of chocolate as well. Of course it's not the chocolate that's bad for you, it's all the sugar that they add to it... I also loved the Playmobil dioramas for the kids, though the Chocolate character looked more like something else... We missed the chocolate demonstration and didn't feel like waiting for it. We loved the chocolate sculptures. There is, of course, a gift shop, and they sell a plush version of the Chocolate character, which we bought for our 2 year old. :) read more

Total waste of time and money. The best thing about this was the free chocolate. Yes the chocolate is all you can eat but it's only 3 little dispensers. Although the cards you read from about the chocolate history is interesting, all in all it's not worth the money. Brugge is a wonderful city so maybe skip this one and keep walking. read more

Generously three stars. Love the free samples throughout the floors but the exhibits feel all over the place. We also happened to be there when a loud and annoying group of kids was there, and apparently the teacher supervisors thought letting them yell throughout the museum and run around with no manners was appropriate. Ruined the vibe and the demonstration of chocolate making at end. Would be nice if they let you know wild children are running around when you buy ticket so you can come back at a less obnoxious time. read more

Surprisingly prolific collection of Maya and Inca artifacts around chocolate. They do a great job leading through the history of chocolate chronologically. At the end it links up with the famous chocolate brands of Belgium today and even has a demonstration where you can see chocolate being made and the process explained. A well curated collection yet it does not fit in with the vibe of the city. The collection seems to be made for tourists whereas the glorious paintings and medieval air of the rest of Bruges grew organically for the locals. If tourists were not coming to Bruges this museum would cease to have a purpose here. read more

The museum itself is really boring. I would have preferred a factory tour. They did a decent job of explaining white vs. milk vs. dark chocolate but the rest is forgettable. The brief kitchen lesson was cool but very brief. read more

Awesome place! We stopped in here while vacationing in Bruges and my fiancée and I loved this little museum. They do a good job of educating the visitor about the history of the cocoa bean and chocolate throughout many cultures. They also provide a lot of information about chocolate-making in Belgium, which was very nice. They chocolate-making demonstration at the end of the tour was very fun and the sample at the end was unexpected and absolutely delicious. It was so nice that they had english translations with all the exhibits and with the demonstration as well; it's very unexpected and humbling to know that they're accommodating to speakers of a foreign tongue (something that is not seen often here in the US). Overall, it's a great little place and it was a fun museum to visit! read more

What a fun light-hearted time! My dude and I decided to take the chocolate tour as a break from eating and drinking in the adorable little town of Bruges. I learned a lot along the way about the history of chocolate and how it came to be as we know it today. We got a chocolate bar upon arrival and a fun demonstration and tasting upon leaving. Much of the tour is reading so come prepared for that. It did seem like they had options for an audio tour for a few different languages, so check that out if you know someone who might benefit from that. Overall well worth our time and money for a few hours of chocolate eating and learning. read more

This is a pretty crappy little museum that relies far too heavily on Playmobile little people in their exhibits (I'm not making that up). The chocolate demonstration at the end is pretty cool, but the room really only allows the first row to see anything (the rest of us can look up at the HD screen), and unf. on this visit (and others I bet, too), not everyone was both tall and polite, if you catch what I am saying... The chocolate sample is pretty good though. read more

Probably the best museum experience I've ever had. Although it wasn't guided, I found it more informative, interesting and interactive than most of the other museums I have visited. It is located in an old style building where they have converted each room into an exhibition dating chocolate all the way to the beginning of it's rich history. Save all of your chocolate cravings until you hit this museum because for the small entrance fee you can eat a priceless amount of chocolate as there are free chocolate 'buffets' on every floor. If that isn't enough, there is a movie on the top floor, and a chocolate sculpture museum at the end, as well as a live demonstration and a gift shop. I would go back to Brugge just to go through this museum again. Cannot recommend it enough! read more

This is a fun little place to visit--about an hour will take you through, get you some free chocolate, and teach you about how it was eaten in past and present. Make sure to read the delightful question section on the last floor as they try to convince you chocolate is healthy. Ends with a demonstration of praline-making (and a free praline). That was definitely the highlight. Worth my time. read more

I had low expectations for this museum and even then I was let down. The exhibits are a little but dry and boring. The only thing that saved the experience was the demonstration at the end. The guy was very knowledgable and we got to see how they make their chocolate. They only gave us one piece of chocolate to taste. I definitely expected more considering most of the shops in Bruges give you more than one piece to taste for free if you ask or they just have samples outside. read more

Me and my girlfriend thought this was rather boring. No interaction whatso-ever except for the chocolatemaking in the end but we arrived there in the last minute of the workshop and didn't feel like waiting half an hour to see it again. The chocolate statues (Obama, barbara streissand (?) and samuel l jackson (another: ?)) were terrible and even mildly racist in my view. I loved the belgian fries museum a lot more! read more

I was going to give this all of 2stars until we got to the chocolate demo making station. This older incredibly enthusiastic chocolateer showed how he made pralines with fantastic flair. We got to taste several chocolates. The museum is very low quality and not worth your time, but the chocolate making station will make your time worth it read more

This is not the best of the chocolate Museum but good historic items and demos. Maybe its just comparing to the rest of Brugge.

I see many people didn't particularly enjoy this museum, however I thought it was done very well. Free chocolate samples on entry and exit, a chocolate demonstration plus loads of information on the history of the chocolate, how it came to be such a popular treat and how it's made. I found it really interesting and informative. I have seen people say it's aimed at children.... I would disagree. It's a lot of reading, and unless you want to stand there and read all the info then you probably won't get all that much out of it, they've tried to make it friendly for children, but it's still all about the information you have to read. The information is presented in four different languages so okay for a wide range of people. Was a great way to kill an hour or two! read more

A lovely little museum detailing the history of chocolate all the way through to present day. Around 3EUR for a student entry, it does offer good value for money (especially compared with the rest of Bruges!) and keeps you entertained. The demonstration of how to make chocolate is a must, as is getting a photo with the chocolate Barack Obama! read more

It has the chocolate demo making and that is the only good thing to see. The admission ticket is pricey. You walk at your own pace. Overall, I would have rather bought a chocolate from a restaurant. I would skip this museum especially the lamp and diamond museums. It really wasn't worth the time or the money. read more

Basically a long commercial for the largest chocolate base supplier (Belcolade, I believe) it is an interesting if child-like look at chocolate. We almost walked past this unassuming building that blends in with the other structures. It almost appears as someone converted a small building they owned. There are some interesting facts and a demonstration every 20 or so minutes at the end of the self-guided tour. A large laminated tour sheet is provided at entry. At the end of the regular tour, there is a short film running continuously and explains how chocolate is grown, harvested, shipped. etc and of course how Belcolade fits into that picture. The demonstration is interesting and given by what appears to be chocolate chefs and designers. It was actually kind of cool even if much of the museum is corny. Worthwhile for a bit of a diversion, especially for kids. Don't forget to take your picture with the chocolate drop cutouts (LOL). Oh, I almost forgot, you get a small candy bar (from one of the two museum associated chocolatiers in Bruges)as part of your entry. read more